The Pwn Broker
by digby
People always talk about brokered conventions and it’s almost always nothing more than pundit masturbation. But this year could be different because of several different factors — the Republicans hate all their candidates, the rules have changed, and this:
In a far cry from his ragtag 2008 effort, Ron Paul is looking beyond the traditional early state contests and gearing up for a long primary slog that lasts at least through Super Tuesday.
It’s a strategy that could make Paul a player at the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla.
The Texas congressman’s long-haul approach is designed to take advantage of new GOP proportional allocation rules that enable candidates to amass delegates without finishing in first place, and to leverage the unique attributes of his campaign — an intensely loyal following and a steady flow of money that will likely enable him to continue for as long as he chooses.
Paul has already put teams in place in 12 caucus states through March 6, when about a dozen Republican primaries and caucuses will take place. On Wednesday, the campaign announced five office openings: Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington.
None of it means Paul is dismissive of the early states.
Rather, he’s assembled an infrastructure aimed at giving him staying power and a voice at the national convention — a strategic approach that few other candidates besides Mitt Romney are pursuing at the moment.
Paul’s people are actually working that system in ways that nobody else is. And this is a crazy year. It could actually result in a weird convention and a party in total disarray.
This would be a good thing. The GOP has gone completely nuts and until they are repudiated they are going to keep pulling the country in the direction of lunacy. The Democrats are little better, but I think we can all agree that it would certainly be easier if one of the parties wasn’t batshit insane.
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